Barneys New York

One Monster Partnership.

The Challenge

Barneys New York was looking for a disruptive campaign to drive incremental sales during their key holiday sales period. The objectives included increasing retail store traffic and product sales, increasing social media engagement, and promotion of the Born This Way Foundation.

Our Approach

We blended and balanced the high fashion brand of Barneys New York with the equally fashionable and generally unprecedented artistic nature of Lady Gaga into a whimsical, stylish holiday experience. We brought the spirit of the NYC in-store experience to the world through an innovative digital and social experience.

Enter the Workshop

The 12 Days of Gaga

We began with a cutting-edge microsite that employed progressive design and technology to truly immerse the visitor in the experience. To generate lead-in buzz online we also developed the concept of 12 days of Gaga, a Lady Gaga-themed advent calendar that unveiled a new product each day.

Each day, traffic steadily increased to the website as consumer hype built around the unveiling of each new offering. All products could be purchased through Barneys e-commerce integration.

The Gaga Experience

PR stunts and a launch event leading up to the official opening of the workshop included taxis wrapped in fun patterns, Workshoppers roaming the streets, and giant inflatables in key locations throughout NYC.

In addition, the launch event brought in a huge crowd of fans and several celebrities including Lady Gaga herself. Photos were featured on the microsite to capture the offline elements.

The Gaga Machine

For the centerpiece of the digital experience and hub for those who could not attend in person, Digital Surgeons dreamed up an environment that promoted engagement and sharing. The Gaga Machine allowed customers and fans to enter codes and clues that could be found online and throughout New York City, which unlocked special videos, prizes, and workshop merchandise.

All the Little Monsters

Viewers could become a “Workshopper” by uploading their photo and unique message creating their own little monster to share with the world on Facebook and Twitter.

Visiting the Workshop

To drive in-store traffic from a digital platform, a partnership with Foursquare was also secured. Foursquare and Digital Surgeons created an unlock-able Gaga’s Workshop badge that was awarded to those who checked-in at Barneys. A promotion was run through Foursquare in which the first person to check-in every day received a special gift at customer service.

The Results

The campaign had astounding results. The decision to leverage social media as a means of spreading awareness of Gaga’s Workshop was incredibly effective. Holiday sales grew over 70% from the previous year and the campaign garnered more than 4 billion earned media impressions worldwide.